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The Reason for All Those
Parades and Fireworks

By

Roger Kimball

Updated July 3, 2001 12:01 a.m. ET

Like many people, I have an American flag ready to display tomorrow in honor of Independence Day. I live in a small neighborhood where July 4 is a big deal. The 20-odd children who live here form an honor guard that parades briefly and lays a wreath at the foot of a small war monument. We raise the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and then a local worthy addresses us after we sing the National Anthem. The ACLU hasn't got wind of our activities yet, so we even engage a friendly cleric to perform a benediction.